THUNDER CITY presents Detroit in the process of becoming the Motor City. Harlan Crownover, scion of a great family of carriage makers, battles with his father to invest in a company run by Henry Ford, who has failed twice before in the autombile business. Desperate for funds, Harlan turns to Big Jim Dolan, the Midwest's most powerful political boss, and Sal Borneo, a visionary Mafioso struggling to bring the commerce of vice into the new century. Allies at first, they soon will be mortal enemies. At the crisis, only Edith Hampton Crownover, Harlan's troubled, aristocratic mother, will be in a position to shift the balance of power.
Thunder City (The Detroit Novels)
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"Profiting from Estleman's usual careful plotting, accurate backgrounds and crisp narrative, this is a gritty novel of high ideals and low morals, of men trying desperately to out-wit one another whatever the cost in the heady days of invention and industry in Detroit".
-- Publishers Weekly
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Loren D Estleman takes the reader, through a fictional account about the birth of the automobile industry as we know it. We see the strong, corrupt opposition that Henry Ford had to fight, in order to make the Ford Motor Company a success, and the friends who believed in him, and the future.
By MONTGOMERY
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Thunder City has as its focus the City of Detroit as it was in the first decade before the First World War. It's rich with a variety of interesting, well fleshed-out characters (e.g. a powerful Irish-American political boss, an early mafioso [Sal Borneo], the Dodge brothers, Henry Ford, and a son of one of the richest men in Detroit who sees the dawning auto industry as the future), who embody the spirit of a growing, dynamic Midwestern city in flux between the norms of 19th century life coupled with ethnic tensions, and the budding, progressive/industrial changes being ushered in by the new century.
As someone who was born and grew up in Detroit, this novel is TREMENDOUS, REVELATORY, and FANTASTIC!!! It helps to give me (as a transplanted Detroiter) a better perspective --- given the present state Detroit is in --- about the historic forces which have shaped the city over time. I LOVE THIS NOVEL. Thank you, Mr. Estleman.
As someone who was born and grew up in Detroit, this novel is TREMENDOUS, REVELATORY, and FANTASTIC!!! It helps to give me (as a transplanted Detroiter) a better perspective --- given the present state Detroit is in --- about the historic forces which have shaped the city over time. I LOVE THIS NOVEL. Thank you, Mr. Estleman.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars
11 reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Detroit Wins Series in Seven on Estleman Homer
24 Jan 2000
By mrpennysworth
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
David Mamet recently published an elegy to Patrick O'Brian in The New York Times. In it he said that only the genre writers are writing interesting English, creating characters that we eagerly wish to know and becoming part of our everyday lives. Loren Estleman is one of the best of the genre writers. His Amos Walker mysteries carry the torch of Chandler and MacDonald. His westerns carry the torch of L'Amour. But, unlike any of the others currently writing, he has also invented a new fictional genre. It is one in which the main character is a place, with a supporting cast that weaves in and out of its history. "Thunder City" is the seventh (and last) of the City of Detroit series, which seeks to define the character of Twentieth Century Detroit, one of the most gritty, down-to-earth, hard-working, corrupt, in-your-face, dangerous and exciting cities in America. I know. I grew up there. This series is recommended reading for anyone interested in genre fiction, but it is essential reading for anyone who feels connected to Detroit. You will recognize the culture, the locations, the history, the trivia, the conflicts, the voices, the attitude. It is a one-of-a-kind fictional endeavor that will someday compare with the formative novels of established genres. Not to be missed. You need them all: "Whiskey River," "Motown," "Edsel," "Stress," "King of the Corner," "Jitterbug" and "Thunder City." I suppose Loren Estleman will finally get his "best seller" due when he turns eighty, like Patrick O'Brian. Life just works out that way sometimes. But maybe, just maybe, there is a David Mamet somewhere who will speak out sooner this time around. Then maybe, just maybe, Loren Estleman will continue this marvelous series about the City of Detroit.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Thunder City
18 Oct 2004
A Kid's Review
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Loren D. Estelman's Thunder City portrays a city of new beginnings and organized crime. Detroit is becoming a hotbed of automobile manufacturers and con men. Harlan Crownover emerges from the pack willing to jump into the automobile business and finance the mechanical genius Henry Ford. Harlan's father Abner, the wealthiest man in Detroit and many other powerful men fell that the automobile will ruin everything that they have worked so hard for. In his quest for financial backing, Harlan comes across Jim Dolan, the city's street railway commissioner who immediately turns him down. Next the relentless Crownover turns to the Sicilian Prince, Sal Borneo, a mafia boss who loves the idea of having young Harlan backed into a corner. Now the pressure rests on Ford to make an efficient, affordable vehicle. Could he overcome the pressure of Detroit's political scene? Or will he be crushed in his third attempt at the automobile industry?
Loren Estleman's historical novel is a great look into the history of Detroit and the birth of the auto industry. It also delves into the first stages of organized crime, and Prohibition. While a good read, it is often difficult to follow and contains many unnecessary details that slow the progression of the story. At times the novel can be very suspenseful and riveting; but at other times, it can be very dull and uneventful. Estleman begins most chapters by setting the scenes with many lengthy, drawn out observations that eradicate the story's pace. For this reason I would recommend Thunder City to history lovers but not to those in search of an exciting quick read.
Loren Estleman's historical novel is a great look into the history of Detroit and the birth of the auto industry. It also delves into the first stages of organized crime, and Prohibition. While a good read, it is often difficult to follow and contains many unnecessary details that slow the progression of the story. At times the novel can be very suspenseful and riveting; but at other times, it can be very dull and uneventful. Estleman begins most chapters by setting the scenes with many lengthy, drawn out observations that eradicate the story's pace. For this reason I would recommend Thunder City to history lovers but not to those in search of an exciting quick read.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent work of historical fiction
22 Oct 1999
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Harlan Crownover pleads with his father Abner to provide him with money to invest in Henry Ford's automobile business. Abner, who made a fortune with his patented suspension system for coaches, rejects the idea of investing in any enterprise headed by a failure like Ford.
Harlan turns to politician Big Jim Dolan for a loan, but receives the same treatment afforded him by his father. Harlan next turns to Mafioso boss Sal Borneo who is Jim's business associate. Soon everyone seems to be turning on everyone else and even family ties are not a sure shot from treachery. Worse yet, Ford appears ready to use Abner's suspension system to solve the only major problem inhibiting him from mass producing his vehicles.
Loren D. Estleman's latest Detroit novel, THUNDER CITY, is an incredible work of historical fiction that makes the turning point era of changing to automobiles seem like yesterday. The story line is filled with action and authentic items from real life. The characters are exciting and their harmony and conflicts make for more interesting reading. However, this tale is clearly that of Detroit, which seems to do a classy JIITERBUG under the direction of that Grand Prix writer Mr. Estleman.
Harriet Klausner
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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